.. I hate finals, that's just my personal outlook, but I'll try to explain to any doubters out there why I have valid reasoning for this. It is a 45 min test or so that ultimately decides a large portion of your grade after months of intense work in the class. It can be manipulated, misunderstood and a large downfall.
The first reason I technically hate finals is simply because of my study habits. I am a severe procrastinator and am a crammer. I usually get up anywhere from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. on test days to start looking over notes and try to put as much information into my head before the test. It helps me get A's or B's on the test, but in the end I forget the info as soon as I turn in my test and clear it for the next cramming session. This kills me during finals week, since I have more information to study and usually take naps in the afternoon after a final and study all night. God forbid I have any Friday finals because I am usually so burnt out and can't focus. Yeah yeah yeah I know.. that's my fault, but hey it got me through 4 years of a biology major and I'm outta here!!!
Another reason is too much is based upon this week. Too many variables can get in the way. My freshmen year I was in a wheelchair after tearing both of my achellies tendons and had to be so jacked up on vicodin to cope with the pain I couldn't focus on my studying or the test. The risk of being extremely sick or have family issues can give you an unfair start to your week of Hell. I have one friend who was in the emergency room with a stomach virus and still has to take 2 finals today because teachers simply cant wave 20% of a grade in a class because of a sickness.
Overall I think cumulative finals are dumb and unfair, I would much rather have a system where research papers are due (thanks Prof. Cigleske) or projects to turn in. Instead of filling in boxes for 45 minutes it can fully show what you have a grasp of and what you learned this semester. Compared to what you could recall in an extremely stressful environment.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
I love the fishes cuz theyre so delicious... jk
This summer is going to be awesome. I just have a few things that I need to figure out to ensure it's awesomeness. It starts this weekend before finals and will continue through August. Look out warm weather here I come!
This Saturday marks the first of many tailgate opportunities. Since I came to college I can hardly separate tailgating from summer. The Brewers are a decent team this year, but I'm sure not going for the game. We have about 40 people going with us and a couple of kegs to jumpstart the festivities. Beer pong, bags, grilling out... it's all just part of a wonderful tradition.
Next on the list is June 1st. That's when I get to go out to Washington D.C. (all expenses paid) and sit in on an international conference on climate change. This is a great opportunity for me and I will probably be starstruck, not by popular celebrities, but by some of the greatest minds on the Earth. Speakers include congressmen, scientists, professors from many respectable institutions (Harvard, Yale, MIT, etc....). Also I get to spend a couple days out sightseeing in our Nation's Capital.
June 5th, what a great day this will be. This will be my first trip to go see my brother at his new house. He just graduated from Northern Michigan University (up in the U.P.) and as we speak is driving 30 hours south to his new residence. Did I mention that his new residence includes a 3 bdrm house on the Ocean? Or that the location might be Key Largo, Fl? This will be a week of fun in the sun and will be filled with golf on the mainland, and lots of SCUBA diving. LOTS of SCUBA diving. : )
Also at the end of the summer will be the start of my new job. That will be coaching football at CUW. It is not my future, but the opportunity to spend another year here to help out with the team that educated me almost as much as school has was too hard to pass up. There are a couple coaching changes that really made me wish I had another year to play, but coaching will be the next best thing. I'm looking forward to staying as part of the team.
Other great things for this summer are headlined by Camp Cartwheel. It is a camp outside of Las Vegas for kids suffering from cancer or kids who are in remission. It will be my first time at this camp, but everything I've heard makes it seem to be the most rewarding way to spend a week. My friend who has gone said that it is life-changing and one of the greatest experiences from her life. Another option for me is a trip to Seattle, WA. I have a academic contact that has invited me to a summit on Intelligent Design. It would be 4 days out in Seattle and all I would pay is airfare. I don't know if I'll have time for it, plus I hear it rains alot out there.
Overall I would have to rate this summer as one of the best in my life, even though I haven't experienced it yet. It will be a fun summer as well as an educational one. I will truley be sad September 21st when I have to admit it is over.
This Saturday marks the first of many tailgate opportunities. Since I came to college I can hardly separate tailgating from summer. The Brewers are a decent team this year, but I'm sure not going for the game. We have about 40 people going with us and a couple of kegs to jumpstart the festivities. Beer pong, bags, grilling out... it's all just part of a wonderful tradition.
Next on the list is June 1st. That's when I get to go out to Washington D.C. (all expenses paid) and sit in on an international conference on climate change. This is a great opportunity for me and I will probably be starstruck, not by popular celebrities, but by some of the greatest minds on the Earth. Speakers include congressmen, scientists, professors from many respectable institutions (Harvard, Yale, MIT, etc....). Also I get to spend a couple days out sightseeing in our Nation's Capital.
June 5th, what a great day this will be. This will be my first trip to go see my brother at his new house. He just graduated from Northern Michigan University (up in the U.P.) and as we speak is driving 30 hours south to his new residence. Did I mention that his new residence includes a 3 bdrm house on the Ocean? Or that the location might be Key Largo, Fl? This will be a week of fun in the sun and will be filled with golf on the mainland, and lots of SCUBA diving. LOTS of SCUBA diving. : )
Also at the end of the summer will be the start of my new job. That will be coaching football at CUW. It is not my future, but the opportunity to spend another year here to help out with the team that educated me almost as much as school has was too hard to pass up. There are a couple coaching changes that really made me wish I had another year to play, but coaching will be the next best thing. I'm looking forward to staying as part of the team.
Other great things for this summer are headlined by Camp Cartwheel. It is a camp outside of Las Vegas for kids suffering from cancer or kids who are in remission. It will be my first time at this camp, but everything I've heard makes it seem to be the most rewarding way to spend a week. My friend who has gone said that it is life-changing and one of the greatest experiences from her life. Another option for me is a trip to Seattle, WA. I have a academic contact that has invited me to a summit on Intelligent Design. It would be 4 days out in Seattle and all I would pay is airfare. I don't know if I'll have time for it, plus I hear it rains alot out there.
Overall I would have to rate this summer as one of the best in my life, even though I haven't experienced it yet. It will be a fun summer as well as an educational one. I will truley be sad September 21st when I have to admit it is over.
Monday, April 20, 2009
2 Blowouts, 1 Decent Game, and 1 Great Game
Yesterday marked the second day of the NBA playoffs. Considering that 3 out of a possible 4 upsets happened the previous day, I was expecting more of the same action. At the end of the night I found myself pretty dissapointed. There is still a lot of basketball to be played, and there is guarenteed that something memorable about this postseason that will rise to the front.
The first game of the day was the only one I was not able to watch. It was the LA Lakers and the Utah Jazz. From the highlights, I would have to put this down as the decent game. The final margin was 13, and it seemed that tha Lakers were in control of the game almost the entire second half. The main highlight from this game would have to be the play of the young Trevor Ariza. His 21 points on 8-10 shooting (3-4 from deep) is his career playoff high. His previous high, set last year was only 6 points.
The second game was without a doubt the best game of the day. I've chosen the 76'ers to upset the Magic in the first round of the playoffs this year. It seems to me that in the Eastern Conference, it is the only one that truly has a chance to happen. (No offense to what D. Rose and the Bulls did on Sat, but they really cannot play any better, and you can't count of Ray Allen and Pierce to play that badly all series.) Looked like I would have to eat my words late in the third quarter when the Magic built an 18 point margin. A 6-0 run to end the quarter along with a hot start to the 4th made it a game again. After a 3 point basket from bench player Donyell Marshall tied it with just over a minute left, we were primed for a great ending. Andre Igudola, an emerging superstar got the ball with 12.5 seconds left. Despite great defense, he pulled up and made a killer 18 foot jumper for the win.
The last two games were highly dissapointing, even though I won money on both of them. My roommate wanted to bet me that the Heat would beat the Hawks, I was wary of the bet, until they showed a shot of Phillips Arena in Atlanta minutes before tip-off. When I saw the excitement of the players and fans, I took the sucker's bet. Boy did that pay off, the Hawks cruised to a 30 point win and made Dwayne Wade have a season-high in turnovers. The game was kept somewhat interesting with Josh Smith's acrobatic dunks throughout the game. The second game was more of the same with the Nuggets going on a 21-0 run in the third quarter to cruise to an easy 30 point win over CP3 and the Hornets. The game was highlighted by the unbelievable play of Chauncey "Mr. Big Shot" Billups. He finished with 36 points, and went 8-9 from beyond the arc.
My predictions for the first round.
Cavs over Pistons in 5
Lakers over Jazz in 4
Mavs over Spurs in 6
Boston over Bulls in 6
Denver over N.O. in 6 (going to be a brutal series, but the experience of Billups will be the deciding factor.)
76'ers over Magic in 6
Portland over Houston in 7
Hawks over Heat in 7
The first game of the day was the only one I was not able to watch. It was the LA Lakers and the Utah Jazz. From the highlights, I would have to put this down as the decent game. The final margin was 13, and it seemed that tha Lakers were in control of the game almost the entire second half. The main highlight from this game would have to be the play of the young Trevor Ariza. His 21 points on 8-10 shooting (3-4 from deep) is his career playoff high. His previous high, set last year was only 6 points.
The second game was without a doubt the best game of the day. I've chosen the 76'ers to upset the Magic in the first round of the playoffs this year. It seems to me that in the Eastern Conference, it is the only one that truly has a chance to happen. (No offense to what D. Rose and the Bulls did on Sat, but they really cannot play any better, and you can't count of Ray Allen and Pierce to play that badly all series.) Looked like I would have to eat my words late in the third quarter when the Magic built an 18 point margin. A 6-0 run to end the quarter along with a hot start to the 4th made it a game again. After a 3 point basket from bench player Donyell Marshall tied it with just over a minute left, we were primed for a great ending. Andre Igudola, an emerging superstar got the ball with 12.5 seconds left. Despite great defense, he pulled up and made a killer 18 foot jumper for the win.
The last two games were highly dissapointing, even though I won money on both of them. My roommate wanted to bet me that the Heat would beat the Hawks, I was wary of the bet, until they showed a shot of Phillips Arena in Atlanta minutes before tip-off. When I saw the excitement of the players and fans, I took the sucker's bet. Boy did that pay off, the Hawks cruised to a 30 point win and made Dwayne Wade have a season-high in turnovers. The game was kept somewhat interesting with Josh Smith's acrobatic dunks throughout the game. The second game was more of the same with the Nuggets going on a 21-0 run in the third quarter to cruise to an easy 30 point win over CP3 and the Hornets. The game was highlighted by the unbelievable play of Chauncey "Mr. Big Shot" Billups. He finished with 36 points, and went 8-9 from beyond the arc.
My predictions for the first round.
Cavs over Pistons in 5
Lakers over Jazz in 4
Mavs over Spurs in 6
Boston over Bulls in 6
Denver over N.O. in 6 (going to be a brutal series, but the experience of Billups will be the deciding factor.)
76'ers over Magic in 6
Portland over Houston in 7
Hawks over Heat in 7
Monday, April 6, 2009
CO2 is not the big bad wolf
Recently I had the great honor and privilege to meet and discuss the global climate conditions with renowned astrophysicist Dr. Willie Soon, a scientist from Harvard University who is on many committees, organizations, and is also a member of the Smithsonian Institute. He has a theory on the global climate change being caused by solar irradiation, but his presentation and argument is more based on disproving the myth on human CO2 emissions being the primary cause of the global warming.
Dr. Soon presented many viable and scientific related materials to disprove that CO2 is the biggest culprit of the warming. Firstly and to me most importantly, he showed that over the past thousands and thousands of years, temperature has preceded the CO2 rises; often by up to 600 years. The exact reasoning for this is not determined, but the warming and cooling of surface waters in oceans would result in larger amounts of CO2 emissions. Also the world has seen tremendous rises and drops in the temperature and CO2 levels throughout our existence, and there is very little evidence that this is due to human emissions and burnings of fossil fuels.
In fact why don’t we discuss how much carbon dioxide is actually released into the atmosphere by anthropogenic causes. Last year humans were responsible for releasing 5.3 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. This number seems high and has been bantered around by the people who are for limiting carbon emissions, etc. Compared to the amount released by cows and other animals (50 billion tons) it doesn’t seem that high. That is not the end of CO2 emissions though, turnover in the ocean; surface waters evaporating to the atmosphere and surface waters cooling and going to the bottom results in 90 billion tons and 95 billion tons of CO2 released respectively. Marine biotics also release 45 billion tons per year. Out of the 285.3 billion tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere, human are responsible for only 1.8%.
People who believe in the myth of CO2 global warming believe that the rise in CO2 is the cause because of the correlation of CO2 rising relatively equal with rising in temperatures from 1960 to 2000. Only problem is that this data is magnified to try and push the agenda of CO2 being the culprit. If you extend the graph back to 1850 there is very little data to show that CO2 could be the reason. Also since 2000, CO2 levels have been rising while temperatures have been dropping. Also if the people truly believe that CO2 as a greenhouse gas is such a player in the global climate changes, how come none of them try to attack water vapor, as it is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
There are also many arguments that the people who believe global warming is anthropogenic that are not true. Al Gore, famous for his “Inconvenient Truth” claims that droughts are increasing and lasting longer, floods are increasing and lasting longer, and also hurricanes are becoming more violent. These seem like terrible situations and would make people, who have no background in science, call for action. Simple looks at NOAA data on droughts and floods show that there is extreme variability in both and no trends at all, much less trends that would lead to any connection between burning fossil fuels and the amount/severity of the natural disasters. As for hurricanes, the information is unfounded on science; if the temperatures were warming globally and the Arctic would be experiencing the worst of it, the combination of the warm and cool air mixing would be less drastic as the differences in the two temperatures would be lower, thus limiting the strength of tropical storms. After Katrina, NOAA came out with a report that said conclusively, greenhouse gases played no role in the increase of tropical storms and no anthropogenic reasons attributed to the severity of the storms. Hurricanes go in and out of season and also go into active and inactive phases, it just happened to be an active phase in 2005.
The theory of solar irradiation being the driving force behind global climate change is still theoretical as of right now, and Dr. Soon acknowledges that much more work needs to be done to make it more plausible. But he argues that people who believe global warming is caused by CO2 have no scientific reasoning and credible causality to their reasoning. All they are looking at is graphs, statistical data, and computer models. As they are looking at statistics alone, which do not prove anything in the scientific world, he argues that the correlation between solar irradiation and temperature is more more believable than CO2 and temperature.
I spoke with Dr. Soon and his companion (Dr. David Legates, the climatologist for the state of Delaware), for nearly 2 hours plus listening to his presentation for another hour and half. The information he provided me with is extraordinary and could fill many more pages. I am currently corresponding with him and am in the process of trying to ascertain some of his slides and graphs to show you his scientific work. I am hoping I will be able to get him to come speak in Mequon sometime within the next year.
Dr. Soon presented many viable and scientific related materials to disprove that CO2 is the biggest culprit of the warming. Firstly and to me most importantly, he showed that over the past thousands and thousands of years, temperature has preceded the CO2 rises; often by up to 600 years. The exact reasoning for this is not determined, but the warming and cooling of surface waters in oceans would result in larger amounts of CO2 emissions. Also the world has seen tremendous rises and drops in the temperature and CO2 levels throughout our existence, and there is very little evidence that this is due to human emissions and burnings of fossil fuels.
In fact why don’t we discuss how much carbon dioxide is actually released into the atmosphere by anthropogenic causes. Last year humans were responsible for releasing 5.3 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. This number seems high and has been bantered around by the people who are for limiting carbon emissions, etc. Compared to the amount released by cows and other animals (50 billion tons) it doesn’t seem that high. That is not the end of CO2 emissions though, turnover in the ocean; surface waters evaporating to the atmosphere and surface waters cooling and going to the bottom results in 90 billion tons and 95 billion tons of CO2 released respectively. Marine biotics also release 45 billion tons per year. Out of the 285.3 billion tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere, human are responsible for only 1.8%.
People who believe in the myth of CO2 global warming believe that the rise in CO2 is the cause because of the correlation of CO2 rising relatively equal with rising in temperatures from 1960 to 2000. Only problem is that this data is magnified to try and push the agenda of CO2 being the culprit. If you extend the graph back to 1850 there is very little data to show that CO2 could be the reason. Also since 2000, CO2 levels have been rising while temperatures have been dropping. Also if the people truly believe that CO2 as a greenhouse gas is such a player in the global climate changes, how come none of them try to attack water vapor, as it is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
There are also many arguments that the people who believe global warming is anthropogenic that are not true. Al Gore, famous for his “Inconvenient Truth” claims that droughts are increasing and lasting longer, floods are increasing and lasting longer, and also hurricanes are becoming more violent. These seem like terrible situations and would make people, who have no background in science, call for action. Simple looks at NOAA data on droughts and floods show that there is extreme variability in both and no trends at all, much less trends that would lead to any connection between burning fossil fuels and the amount/severity of the natural disasters. As for hurricanes, the information is unfounded on science; if the temperatures were warming globally and the Arctic would be experiencing the worst of it, the combination of the warm and cool air mixing would be less drastic as the differences in the two temperatures would be lower, thus limiting the strength of tropical storms. After Katrina, NOAA came out with a report that said conclusively, greenhouse gases played no role in the increase of tropical storms and no anthropogenic reasons attributed to the severity of the storms. Hurricanes go in and out of season and also go into active and inactive phases, it just happened to be an active phase in 2005.
The theory of solar irradiation being the driving force behind global climate change is still theoretical as of right now, and Dr. Soon acknowledges that much more work needs to be done to make it more plausible. But he argues that people who believe global warming is caused by CO2 have no scientific reasoning and credible causality to their reasoning. All they are looking at is graphs, statistical data, and computer models. As they are looking at statistics alone, which do not prove anything in the scientific world, he argues that the correlation between solar irradiation and temperature is more more believable than CO2 and temperature.
I spoke with Dr. Soon and his companion (Dr. David Legates, the climatologist for the state of Delaware), for nearly 2 hours plus listening to his presentation for another hour and half. The information he provided me with is extraordinary and could fill many more pages. I am currently corresponding with him and am in the process of trying to ascertain some of his slides and graphs to show you his scientific work. I am hoping I will be able to get him to come speak in Mequon sometime within the next year.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Tiger Woods is not human
I spent the better part of my day in front of the t.v. After driving to Racine to meet my parents for church, we went to the country club where my parents are members and had lunch. While we were there we watched the basketball tournament and the golf tournament on two different t.v.'s. It's no secret to anybody who has read my past blogs that I am a big basketball fan, but I found myself watching Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Invitational more than the upset of Louisville and even the UNC v. Oklahoma game (even though I was wearing a North Carolina Polo today). The only reason for my infatuation with the game of gentlemen was Tiger Woods.
He started the day 5 strokes back from Sean O'Hair who was at -7 through 3 days. Tiger on the other hand was only 2 under par and had bogeyed 2 of the last 5 holes the previous day. This lead would be relatively safe for Sean O'Hair a month ago, but Tiger was back on the prowl. I even believe that the lead would have been safe if Tiger was not in the last group with O'Hair and it would have been a much less dramatic round.
The first thing that became apparent to me today was that Sunday Tiger might just be a mythical demigod. This half-man half-god with a magical rod of power (the driver) and the all too familiar armor (red Nike shirt) instills a fear in people that he is matched up against. It was very obvious as through 8 holes Tiger was 2 under for the day and O'Hair was 2 over. The one stroke difference was enough to keep the tension up the rest of the round. O'Hair looked like he would get seperation with a birdie on 9, but countered it with a bogey on 10 to get back to a one stroke lead. Tiger then went Tiger and sank a beautiful birdie putt to tie O'Hair at -5 on the 15th hole. O'Hair cracked under the pressure and put his 2nd shot into the water and bogeyed 16 to give Tiger a one stroke lead with two holes to play. At this point I had no doubt Tiger would par out and win by one stroke, but he put his tee shot on the par 3 17th into the lip of a bunker and gave himself a nearly impossible shot to get close to the pin. He managed to get out of the bunker and onto the green, but left himself with a distant putt and 2 putted to a bogey. All of a sudden I started to contemplate whether Tiger is really a human and his miraculous U.S. Open win on one leg might have been the curtain call for a man who wouldn't regain his greatness after the surgery. Or maybe he wanted to roar his way back into the PGA with a dramatic win on the 72nd hole of the tournament. Tiger hit a beautiful tee shot on 18 and had a nice approach to get within 15 feet of the pin. O'Hair missed his 19 foot birdie attempt (that nobody in the gallery or watching on tv really thought he would make) and it set up an epic Tiger moment. Tiger lined his putt up and even before he hit it the club pro who was watching with us simply said "it's in". Sure enough the putt was true and Tiger gave the famous fist pump and celebrated.
Maybe it's not that impressive that he won at Bay Hill where he has won often before. But let's examine it. It's only his second four day tournament after being out of the game for a year, and only his third competitive situation. More impressive though is that he overcame his largest Sunday deficit ever to win this tournament. This is scary, could he really be stronger and better than he ever was before (which he claims he is). He's already 3rd all time in career wins and 2nd in majors won. Only difference is his pro career has been only 13 years while Sam Snead (all time wins leader) played 30 years and Jack Nicklaus (all time major winner) played 25 years. Today proved to me that Tiger will crush both marks and be remembered not only as the greatest golfer ever, but the greatest athlete ever. You better watch out Jordan you're about to be replaced.
He started the day 5 strokes back from Sean O'Hair who was at -7 through 3 days. Tiger on the other hand was only 2 under par and had bogeyed 2 of the last 5 holes the previous day. This lead would be relatively safe for Sean O'Hair a month ago, but Tiger was back on the prowl. I even believe that the lead would have been safe if Tiger was not in the last group with O'Hair and it would have been a much less dramatic round.
The first thing that became apparent to me today was that Sunday Tiger might just be a mythical demigod. This half-man half-god with a magical rod of power (the driver) and the all too familiar armor (red Nike shirt) instills a fear in people that he is matched up against. It was very obvious as through 8 holes Tiger was 2 under for the day and O'Hair was 2 over. The one stroke difference was enough to keep the tension up the rest of the round. O'Hair looked like he would get seperation with a birdie on 9, but countered it with a bogey on 10 to get back to a one stroke lead. Tiger then went Tiger and sank a beautiful birdie putt to tie O'Hair at -5 on the 15th hole. O'Hair cracked under the pressure and put his 2nd shot into the water and bogeyed 16 to give Tiger a one stroke lead with two holes to play. At this point I had no doubt Tiger would par out and win by one stroke, but he put his tee shot on the par 3 17th into the lip of a bunker and gave himself a nearly impossible shot to get close to the pin. He managed to get out of the bunker and onto the green, but left himself with a distant putt and 2 putted to a bogey. All of a sudden I started to contemplate whether Tiger is really a human and his miraculous U.S. Open win on one leg might have been the curtain call for a man who wouldn't regain his greatness after the surgery. Or maybe he wanted to roar his way back into the PGA with a dramatic win on the 72nd hole of the tournament. Tiger hit a beautiful tee shot on 18 and had a nice approach to get within 15 feet of the pin. O'Hair missed his 19 foot birdie attempt (that nobody in the gallery or watching on tv really thought he would make) and it set up an epic Tiger moment. Tiger lined his putt up and even before he hit it the club pro who was watching with us simply said "it's in". Sure enough the putt was true and Tiger gave the famous fist pump and celebrated.
Maybe it's not that impressive that he won at Bay Hill where he has won often before. But let's examine it. It's only his second four day tournament after being out of the game for a year, and only his third competitive situation. More impressive though is that he overcame his largest Sunday deficit ever to win this tournament. This is scary, could he really be stronger and better than he ever was before (which he claims he is). He's already 3rd all time in career wins and 2nd in majors won. Only difference is his pro career has been only 13 years while Sam Snead (all time wins leader) played 30 years and Jack Nicklaus (all time major winner) played 25 years. Today proved to me that Tiger will crush both marks and be remembered not only as the greatest golfer ever, but the greatest athlete ever. You better watch out Jordan you're about to be replaced.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Why state-wide smoking ban is unnecessary
State-wide smoking bans have been passed in many mid-western states in recent years and now Wisconsin is being pressured by activists to do the same. Our own Governor Doyle supports this idea, but in all actuality it is unnecessary and an infringement of our rights.
There is no arguing that smoking is bad for your health and the people around you, but it is still legal. I believe that restrictions and taxes already put on tobacco products have alienated the users enough. It is legal and as long as it stays that way, the restrictions are getting a little out of hand. 440,000 people die each year in the United States from smoking and it needs to be ultimately lowered, but where are we putting our interests? According to the CDC over 300,000 people each year die directly from obesity, and up to 1,000,000 more die from effects of heart failure, clotting, and other diseases/conditions that obesity can be the underlying cause of. So if we really want to protect lives, why aren't we taking half as strong of a stance against the corporations that market extremely unhealthy food to America. This is not a call for government regulation on fast food at all, but it is a counter-example that smoking is not the biggest problem we in America need to be fighting against. If special interest groups paid as much attention to their nutrition and own health, as they do fighting against people making their own choices to smoke, the country would be a much healthier place.
In the article recently presented in class, a poll showed that 69% of Wisconsinites support this ban. It is to restrict smoking from all public places, such as bars, bowling alleys, and restaurants. my personal belief is that business owners should make their own decisions on their establishments. If this number is correct and 69% of people in this state are against smoking in public places, I think it is the prerogative of the business man to eliminate smoking in his place of work. He would sacrifice his smoking clientle to bring in a majority that would support the clean air in his restaurant. It is your choice to go into a place of business that allows smoking period. We need to spend more time looking at our own choices and decisions, and stop worrying and hoping the government will come in and make the "bad smokers" go outside so they can eat their food in peace.
There is no arguing that smoking is bad for your health and the people around you, but it is still legal. I believe that restrictions and taxes already put on tobacco products have alienated the users enough. It is legal and as long as it stays that way, the restrictions are getting a little out of hand. 440,000 people die each year in the United States from smoking and it needs to be ultimately lowered, but where are we putting our interests? According to the CDC over 300,000 people each year die directly from obesity, and up to 1,000,000 more die from effects of heart failure, clotting, and other diseases/conditions that obesity can be the underlying cause of. So if we really want to protect lives, why aren't we taking half as strong of a stance against the corporations that market extremely unhealthy food to America. This is not a call for government regulation on fast food at all, but it is a counter-example that smoking is not the biggest problem we in America need to be fighting against. If special interest groups paid as much attention to their nutrition and own health, as they do fighting against people making their own choices to smoke, the country would be a much healthier place.
In the article recently presented in class, a poll showed that 69% of Wisconsinites support this ban. It is to restrict smoking from all public places, such as bars, bowling alleys, and restaurants. my personal belief is that business owners should make their own decisions on their establishments. If this number is correct and 69% of people in this state are against smoking in public places, I think it is the prerogative of the business man to eliminate smoking in his place of work. He would sacrifice his smoking clientle to bring in a majority that would support the clean air in his restaurant. It is your choice to go into a place of business that allows smoking period. We need to spend more time looking at our own choices and decisions, and stop worrying and hoping the government will come in and make the "bad smokers" go outside so they can eat their food in peace.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Marqutte Golden Eagles Woes
This has been a rough week for the Marquette men's basketball team. Last Wednesday they were in the first of their final four brutal games to close out the season. They lost to #2 Uconn and today fell to #6 Louisville. Marquette is a good team but they need to close the season with some momentum and dropping two straight means the next two games are of the upmost importanc.e.
The biggest facet that will factor into their run at the Final Four was not decided by a win or a lose. Against UConn last week Marquette senior guard Dominic James went down with a broken foot and will be out the rest of the year. This is a terrible blow to Marquette; James leads Marquette all-time for games started, is second all-time in assists, third in points, and fourth in steals. Not only does he put stats up on the board, he is the quarterback on the court and led Marquette by example. His lose is crucial and unless back-up Maurice Acker can step up big time, it will most likely lead to a premature end to their great season.
Today was really dissapointing, Marquette lost to the #6 team by four points and played terribly. Louisville came out and played the game at a frantic pace and Marquette struggled all game to play at the level Rick Pitino's team was able to dictate. No Dominic James was a huge factor; although Acker did a great job, it was obvious they were lacking a leader on the court to calm them down and force them to focus. Another major factor was Jereal Mcneal not showing up on the offensive end. Mcneal came into the game averaging well over 20 points a game on efficient shooting, but at Louisville he managed 3-19 shooting which included 2-10 from beyond the three point line. Marquette only lost by four points, but to be honest they did not look like they were in any position to win the game at all after both teams came out for the second half.
So what is next? Marquette's road does not get any easier, they play #1 Pittsburgh on Wednesday and a win would go a long way. The Golden Eagles are poised for a number #3 seed in the March Madness tournament, but if they beat Pitt and Syracuse to end the year, they could possibly bump up to a 2 seed. Worst case is they falter on both of their remaining games, along with a bad showing in the Big East tournament, they could fall to a 4 or even a 5 seed. I had Marquette making a run in the NCAA's but with their showing today and the obvious discombulation due to Dominic James abscence, I do not see them making it past the Elite 8; and that is if they get a favorable bracket.
The biggest facet that will factor into their run at the Final Four was not decided by a win or a lose. Against UConn last week Marquette senior guard Dominic James went down with a broken foot and will be out the rest of the year. This is a terrible blow to Marquette; James leads Marquette all-time for games started, is second all-time in assists, third in points, and fourth in steals. Not only does he put stats up on the board, he is the quarterback on the court and led Marquette by example. His lose is crucial and unless back-up Maurice Acker can step up big time, it will most likely lead to a premature end to their great season.
Today was really dissapointing, Marquette lost to the #6 team by four points and played terribly. Louisville came out and played the game at a frantic pace and Marquette struggled all game to play at the level Rick Pitino's team was able to dictate. No Dominic James was a huge factor; although Acker did a great job, it was obvious they were lacking a leader on the court to calm them down and force them to focus. Another major factor was Jereal Mcneal not showing up on the offensive end. Mcneal came into the game averaging well over 20 points a game on efficient shooting, but at Louisville he managed 3-19 shooting which included 2-10 from beyond the three point line. Marquette only lost by four points, but to be honest they did not look like they were in any position to win the game at all after both teams came out for the second half.
So what is next? Marquette's road does not get any easier, they play #1 Pittsburgh on Wednesday and a win would go a long way. The Golden Eagles are poised for a number #3 seed in the March Madness tournament, but if they beat Pitt and Syracuse to end the year, they could possibly bump up to a 2 seed. Worst case is they falter on both of their remaining games, along with a bad showing in the Big East tournament, they could fall to a 4 or even a 5 seed. I had Marquette making a run in the NCAA's but with their showing today and the obvious discombulation due to Dominic James abscence, I do not see them making it past the Elite 8; and that is if they get a favorable bracket.
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